Giants fan favorite Ryan Vogelsong took the mound for the final time at AT&T Park last Sunday, officially retiring with the club that drafted him two decades ago. Vogey received a loud standing ovation from the home crowd before tossing one last pitch to catcher Nick Hundley. Vogelsong’s former manager Bruce Bochy then walked out to the mound to take the ball from the two-time World Series champion, and the two shared a laugh as he departed for the dugout.
Vogelsong joined Murph & Mac on Thursday to reflect on the emotional afternoon, and share the conversation he had with his former skipper.
“It was way way more intense than I thought it was going to be,” Vogelsong said. “I kind’ve know why I used to get so mad because I was so nervous…I was really nervous. It was an amazing day. It was way way more than I ever expected. I’ll tell you what it was really cool for me, but I think the best thing was having my family there and having my son on the mound with me. Him being able to see how great the fans are in San Francisco because he doesn’t really remember a lot from being in the World Series’ parades and everything. So seeing how excited he was made it even better for me.”
So what did Bochy say to him as he took the ball?
He said, ‘I know you probably don’t want to give me this ball like old times but I need to take it from you.’ I said, ‘don’t worry buddy, this is the only time I’m not going to fight you. You can have it.’”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear about Vogelsong retiring as a Giant, start from the beginning.